Okay, final chapter. God, this took too long for me to write. I need a break. I think I'll take one. In the meantime, Happy Election Day! Choose wisely, America... choose wisely.

And I leave you with a parting query... does it hurt more to laugh than to cry?

Three

Uh. I feel like crap. My head really hurts. Like, a lot. I feel a sudden desire for aspirin, and a lot of it.

And I'm tied up. To a chair. And these bonds are tight. Damn.

"Good, you're awake. Sooner than I expected."

I look up, my head dizzy with pain. In front of me is the assassin, David Cain. The white eagle is really bright in my eyes.

And standing next to him is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And I've met Helena Bertinelli.

She's average height, with shoulder-length black hair, with the most perfect features complementing her face. She has an Oriental look, and despite all the teasing I've received, blondes are not my type. I didn't think I had a type.

Cain follows my gaze to the girl. Clearly she's his side-kick. He chuckles.

"Find my daughter attractive, son?" he asks. I cough. His daughter?

"Let me guess," I say, attempting humor. "She takes after her mother, yeah?" He laughs, and it's not unpleasant. He's still a stone-cold killer, and I'm still tied up. I then realize my mask is still on.

"That she does, kid," he says. "Robin, meet Cassandra. I assume you've guessed who I am by now."

"More or less," I respond, next realizing my HUD is deactivated. So he knows about that. "David Cain, world-class mercenary and former Black Sun operative."

Now his laughter can't disguise the cold fire in his eyes.

"Now whatever gave you that idea?" he asks quietly. I try not to gulp.

"Because you've been steadily killing all of the remnants of Black Sun for a while now."

His mouth opens, and then he laughs again, but this time it's genuine. Cassandra remains stoic.

"Oh, that's great," he says, putting his hand to his face. "That's really funny."

Now I'm confused.

"You're not?"

"I'm Cain, certainly," he says, wiping away tears from his eyes. "But I'm not the Black Sun hitman. I'm the guy who's after him."

"With your daughter in tow," I respond, trying to wrap my head around all of these levels of intrigue.

"What better way to learn than on the job?" he asks. "But not only am I here to get the killer, I'm here to find out if there's any link between him and this new Batman."

My heart stops. How could he possibly know...?
"Yeah, I knew Bruce Wayne," he says, reading my face. "Trained him, as a matter of fact. Figured out he was Batman a long time ago. But when he died... well, I couldn't believe it. Especially with Batman still in action. But coming here, seeing you..." He gestures at me. "You working on your own confirmed my suspicions."

"Wait, so the killer isn't you, and he might be Batman?" I ask. "How do you tie that together?"

"Well, kid, I figure the less you know, the better," Cain answers. "Unless..."

There's a silence. I wait.

"Cassie, can you do some rooftop reconnaissance? Just in case."

The beautiful, unsmiling girl takes the hint without a word. She leaves. Cain turns to me, a strange look on her face.

"She's a good girl," he says, almost conspiratorially, "but she's bound to get into trouble. See, she started too early. This kinda job, it really messes with you. Even with me there... and I had always wanted a son."

This frank confession catches me off guard. But I think I can see where this is going.

"Look, son," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I trained Bruce Wayne. I can train you, not to be a killer, but to be a survivor. For my girl. Because there'll come a time when I'm gone, and she'll get herself killed. She has skills, but no survival notion whatsoever. And that is my mistake." That strange look intensifies. "Thing is, I'm not sure I can take this guy. So I want to make sure Cassandra is looked after."

I'm really not sure what to say to this. I keep my mouth shut, however, because I think he's still talking.

"See, the thing is," he says, slower now, as if he's treading on ice, "I figured anyone who was trained and possibly raised by Bruce Wayne would... well..."

"Be a goody two shoes," I finish. He smiles.

"More or less. I really don't like the way this situation with Black Sun turned out. There's only one guy I can think of, and if he's got a partner like I think he does..."

I don't hear anymore. The glass shatters into our conversation.

Cassandra drops onto the floor, unconscious, bloody from the window. Cain roars in anger, turning to face the threat.

My jaw drops. It really shouldn't have, but it did. It's like seeing a ghost come back to haunt me, it seems so real.

It is.

Batman attacks Cain, picking him up easily, and throws him across the room. He comes over to me, slicing my bonds off with a Batarang.

"Come on, Robin," he says, a perfect imitation of the harsh rasp. "Let's move."

Thank you, and good night.